The Older I Get
by SemixQuaver
Summary: “Then why am I alone?” The question hung in the air, and Tenten felt her heart reach towards her ex-sensei. Where was his exuberance? His love of life? This wasn’t the man she had grown up with...or was it? Oneshot GaiTen


**_The Older I Get_  
**

**Oneshot  
Couple:** GaiTen  
**Words: **967  
**Rating: **T

**Notes: **It has come to my attention there are not enough GaiTen stories out there, so I took a whack at it. It could suck, so beware.

**I do not own Naruto or it's characters.**

* * *

"Hello?"

"Tenten! My youthful student, fountain of glory, almighty-"

Tenten sighed into the phone. "Why didn't you just call Lee-kun?"

"Because, my beam of sunlit youth, _you_ are the _only_ one I need to talk to tonight!" She could almost taste her sensei's enthusiasm.

"This isn't something weird is it?"

"How could you say such a thing Tenten-chan?!"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because the last time you called me was because Lee wasn't being youthful and you wanted to play twister? Or remember that time you made me get a spider out of your bathroom? Or that-"

"It's not like that this time!" he lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "It's serious!"

Tenten rubbed her temples and walked into her bedroom. "Do you want me to come over there, or will you come here?"

"No! Stay right there my sunflower of youthful thoughts, I shall be over there soon. See you there!"

"Bye," Tenten wandered into her kitchen and placed the phone on its cradle. She sat on the bench and picked a piece of lint of her baggy blue pants.

"3, 2, 1…"

"I am here at your sparkling dwelling of springtime Tenten-chan! Let me in!" Gai's incredibly loud voice boomed from the front door.

"It's unlocked," she replied, adjusting her buns. Gai, in all his green spandex glory, strolled in and stood in her kitchen.

"Now what was so important that you had to call me at 10 o'clock tonight?" she asked, looking into that familiar face that was showing a slight crease at the eyebrows. "And don't lie to me; I know there's something troubling you. What's the matter, Gai-san?" Tenten had decided to call him Gai last year on her 18th birthday and hadn't called him 'Gai-sensei' since. It wasn't like she trained with him anymore, anyway.

"Well, I don't think now is really the time to be troubling you-"

"Sit down on the couch and I'll grab you a beer," she said softly, walking to her fridge and grabbing the aforementioned alcohol.

Tenten looked over, and Gai was slumped on the couch, head in his hands and knee jiggling nervously. This was big. She sat next to him on the couch and nudged his shoulder with the cold beer. They sat in silence for a while as she sipped her drink and Gai sat there, staring at something far off in the distance. Then quite abruptly, he asked,

"Tenten-chan... do you think I'm... old?"

"What?! Gai-san, you're only 32!" Tenten was astounded. This man was in the prime of his life, he wasn't even middle aged yet. "You're still young. I mean come on! Look at Jiraiya-sama!"

Gai looked at her, dark eyes serious and searching. "Well then, am I ugly?"

'_Since when did Gai start to look so sad?'_

"Well, you're um... not really _ugly_, so-to-speak..." Shit, that was the wrong thing to say. Gai was even more slumped and looked tired.

"Then why am I alone?"

The question hung in the air, and Tenten felt her heart reach towards her ex-sensei. Where was his exuberance? His love of life? This wasn't the man she had grown up with...or was it?

Tenten reached for Gai's hand and squeezed it.

"Hey," she said gently. "How long has it been like this?"

"Longer than I can remember. I never really had any friends, except for Kakashi. But then you, Lee and Neji were with me. And even now, I can feel you all leaving, starting families and forgetting me," he sounded broken, resigned. Tenten felt tears prick her eyes.

"I...would never forget you, Gai. You've always been there for me, for all of us. We'd never have made it this far with out you. Don't worry about the future for now. Just worry about what's happening here and now."

"But Tenten, one day you'll want to leave me too," Gai murmured quietly looking at their tightly clasped hands. "No-one wants to spend all their life single."

Tenten considered this. "Well, who says you're gonna stay single forever?" she whispered, leaning into Gai and resting on his shoulder.

Gai inhaled sharply. "Tenten..." he warned.

"Gai-san, do you want me...?" she asked quietly, lacing her hands around his waist and breathing in his smell. So masculine... so over-powering.

"You're all I ever wanted, Tenten..." he whispered. Tenten gasped as his lips captured hers, seeming to devour her hungrily. He held her close to him and silently cried into her neck, soft tears of joy mingled with the pain of the years.

"I've wanted you too," Tenten whispered later that night as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

* * *

"Tenten, _light_ of my heart, _flower_ of my love, where are you?!" Tenten was marking papers at her desk in the Ninja academy.

"Where I always am, Gai!" she called out the window. The aforementioned man bounding up the hallway towards the classroom as she said this.

"3, 2, 1..."

Gai lent against the doorframe, and smiled in a small way.

"Hello old man. Are we playing twister again today?" she answered, waltzing over to him. Gai lifted her up in his arms and grinned an extra sparkly grin only reserved for her.

"No my sunflower. Today we are going to watch the sunset!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Why? You're trying to be romantic again aren't you?"

"Of course not! Do not suggest a thing my youthful wife!"

Tenten planted a small kiss on his lips. "Whatever you say, Gai. Whatever you say."


End file.
